since everyone always gets at least one handmade gift thrown in for their birthday present, i had to think of something fun to make my niece for her second birthday! i’ve already made her some dresses, skirts, and crayon caddie, not to mention a play apron to go with her kitchen set she got for Christmas, so i was quickly running out of ideas!
since she LOVES to color i decided on an activity notepad. i didn’t think an activity tote would be too useful yet since she doesn’t need it for school-nor is she big enough to carry her own bag! i figured that an activity pad would be the next best thing. this would be easily tucked inside a purse or diaper bag so if my sister and husband needed something to keep her busy while traveling this would be perfect!
this activity notepad is small enough that it doesn’t take up a lot of room, but has tons of pockets so the inside has room to hold a small drawing pad, slots for crayons or markers, as well as another slot that i ended up sticking a book and some stickers inside! i decided to use Alexander Henry’s Apples and Pears fabric to match another gift item i had made her for Christmas. it ended up working out perfect because i also had some Hello Kitty ribbon that i got from Target that i thought was super cute, and the ribbon even had matching red apples on them!
so…you might be wondering, well, why by one instead of the other? well, if you want the option of not being limited to just art then an activity tote would be more practical- the tote is larger, so you can easily tuck a doll or stuffed animal inside, toy cars, or small electronic toys. the activity notepad is mostly to have a portable art “station.”
i take back ever saying that we need snow, or that i want snow! one snowfall a year is more than enough for this area! it’s funny because every year since my husband and i have been together, i always complain about how we never get snow, and this year it’s snowed more than it has in the five years we’ve been together! AND it’s not done yet! they are still calling for a big snowfall this weekend, more than the blizzard we had in december (that was about 20 in our area)…they’re calling for possibly up to 36 inches! yikes!
but…i will say, the way the snow covered the trees sure was pretty this morning! (i love that this pic- taken on my iphone, but surprisingly good quality- shows the moon just starting to set in between the trees!)
i know, it’s been a LONG time since i’ve written anything of any substance! the holidays came and went and now January is pretty much done!
i haven’t been in the sewing room as much as i’d like- mainly because we’ve been redoing the guest bedroom (after nearly three years of living in our house, more and more house decorating is being done! yeahhh!) since we’ve been painting and redoing the guest bed and bathroom, a lot of things have been stashed in my sewing studio, which = MESS!! we also managed to paint the basement and hubby decided back before the holidays to reward himself with a nice new plasma! that meant we also had to get a new tv stand, which also meant that we were left with an old media cabinet that had nowhere to go! since it’s just a black cabinet with shelves i thought it was perfect for storing fabric, and lo and behold i was able to clean out the closet and now have storage space in the closet and an extra cabinet of just fabric! WOOHOO! (sorry, the rooms are still not where i’d like them to be, otherwise i’d have pictures to share!)
and on top of not really having accomplished many new projects, every time i plan to take pictures of what i have completed, it is either snowing or raining, so all outdoor picture taking has pretty much been on hold! added to the fact that i haven’t been as gung-ho to list items in my etsy shop lately! this is mainly because business has been somewhat slow and i find that since etsy is so popular these days, the second i list something, five minutes later i’m already on page 10! (which, if you’re anything like me and doing a search for something and end up with 200 pages of search results, i generally get bored or annoyed after page 10!) to me, that’s very frustrating mostly because i use my etsy shop as creative outlet, not so much for money making purposes, but the fact that i’m paying to have things listed, and no real sales, i can’t really afford to keep listing as often as i’d like when traffic to my shop can be very slow!
in any event, i did manage to make some baby gift sets because these are always really popular and aside from my laptop sleeves, they are my most requested items! i’ve made some sets in the past that were of the pink skulls and crossbones and they were snatched up almost immediately. while i was organizing through some of my fabric, i realized i had about a yard left so figured i’d make one last cute set! not sure who this is going to, but at the rate all my friends are having babies, someone is bound to have a girl next! this includes a pleated tote for mom, and a fabric decorated burp cloth, sensory blanket, and appliqued onesie for baby!
just wanted to pass along the Craft Hope for Haiti link! Craft Hope just opened up an Etsy shop so that crafters can donate items, with 100% proceeds going towards Doctors Without Borders. if you would like to contribute an item or make a purchase, please check out their site for more details! i’m hoping to donate something this weekend!
one of the blogs i came across last year that i love following now is True Up. When they decided to host a fabric meme, i decided it would be fun to play along, because, well, who doesn’t love drooling over fabric!! 2009 was definitely a year of exploration for me in my sewing room! it’s truly hard to believe that my husband bought me my sewing machine as my Christmas present just two years ago-honestly, what was i doing before that?! the funny thing is, i had wanted it simply so that i could hem up my own pants rather than pay a tailor! never in a million years did i imagine that sewing would become such a huge part of my daily routine- i’m sure he didn’t either! and i’m betting that hubby also didn’t realize the amount of money that would go into this hobby or the fact that it would overtake rooms AND closets in the house!! (love you honey…and, oh yeah…when are we moving into a bigger house?!) 
FAVORITE QUILTING WEIGHT COTTON COLLECTION: Tanya Whelan’s Dolce Collection. the second i saw this line i fell IN LOVE!! i WANT each print in every color, and then some!!
FAVORITE HOME DECOR WEIGHT FABRIC: Anna Maria Horner’s Drawing Room. the sketchbook print is my fav and i have (or you could possibly even say hoarding!) the pink and natural ones in a special hiding place in my sewing room that noone can choose anything to be made from! (is that wrong?!)…and i still need to get my hands on some of the blue one!
FAVORITE TREND (MOTIFS): well, if you couldn’t tell from just the first two responses, it is BIRDS!!!
FAVORITE TREND (COLORS): my always go to color trend is typically browns and pinks, but right now i am absolutely LOVING the turquoise/red combos! i just got some of Patty Young’s Flora and Fauna in the turquoise hummingbirds and i haven’t been able to bring myself to cut into it, it’s THAT pretty!
FAVORITE OVERALL DESIGNER: as i’m sure most people will say, tried and true, Amy Butler!! i also love that now i can get stuff for the house already made in her prints-seriously contemplating redoing the master bedroom and bathroom!!
FAVORITE NEW DESIGNER: Studio E Fabrics. i’m not sure how new they are, but i just discovered them over the summer, and love the Nature-ology collection!
FAVORITE NOVELTY PRINT: Monkey N Round by Erin Michael for Moda (or anything Sock Monkey for that matter…but, all i have left in my stash is the Goodnight Monkey!)
FAVORITE GEOMETRIC PRINT: Sugar Snap Kimono by Melissa Averinos
FAVORITE ORGANIC PRINT/COLLECTION: Flock by Cloud 9
FAVORITE JUVENILE PRINT- BOYS: if we have a boy, (unless i change my mind by that time!) our nursery will be made from David Walkers, Robots!
FAVORITE JUVENILE PRINT- GIRLS: but i’m secretly hoping when the time comes we’ll have a girl because Tina Givens Fairy Tip Toes makes me real happy, and i can only imagine sitting in a nursery made entirely out of this line!!
FAVORITE FABRIC SHOP: locally, Artful Quilter (they just moved, so they aren’t as close as before, but i hear the new shop is even bigger! could only mean trouble!) and online, i love Hawthorne Threads. they were originally on Etsy under Fabric Supplies, but their new shop i have to say is pretty cool! love the fact that you can click on a print, and instantly find coordinating prints/colors that’ll match it! they also do a tiered pricing system, so the more you buy, the more you save-and the best part is if you shopped with them on Etsy, they transferred your fabric history over to their new shop!
hope everyone enjoyed their holidays! 2009 seemed to end in a flash, and to be honest, i couldn’t have been happier! (one of these days i’ll eventually get around to writing a post on some really awesome christmas goodies i received!)
we finally got around to taking down all the christmas decorations over the weekend, and it already feels like 2010 is flying by! since i spent the last several weeks kind of taking it easy from the sewing, there’s not much to share project wise on my part, so i’ll leave you with a super quick and easy snack-pretzel buttons! i recently saw them on tastespotting and remembered how much i enjoyed them, so thought i’d pass along the fun!
all you have to do is get grab some pretzels (squares or rings, either will do), some hershey kisses (possiblities are endless…you can even use rolos or dove chocolates), and some m&ms to top with (i actually made a few topped with mini marshmallows and one of my nephews loved these more than the m&m ones! and of course, no pics of those, they went pretty quick!)
top a pretzel with some chocolate, pop it into the oven at 200 degrees for about 5 min (don’t put for much longer, you just want the chocolate to be soft, not completely melted!!) and once it’s done, top with an m&m (or whichever topping you prefer!) tastes great when they are fresh from the oven and ooey gooey, but if you’re giving them away, you can always wait for the chocolate to set, or pop in the fridge for the chocolate to harden back up again. either way you eat them, they’re addictive!!
this is what the neighborhood looked like this morning. the dog is faring better doing his business walking along the street than trying to hop through the 2 ft plus that is in his usual common area!
last night, walking was pretty brutal. the snow was up past my thighs, so trying to trek through gave me a workout! i don’t know why we bothered walking Kiko on a leash! but, we were worried he’d have to much fun and try and run off! needless to say, when we did take him off the leash, he just stayed right by our side!
so, what was the final result on the deck this morning?
our poor patio set is almost hidden underneath all the snow! (you know every year we keep saying that we need to store the set before the snow comes…ah well, another year where we forget to winterize!)
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